


Charcuterie Nights

by orpwrks



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Concussions, Established Relationship, Eventual Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day, tyson’s still on the team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29090061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpwrks/pseuds/orpwrks
Summary: He doesn’t know how it happened. Valentine’s day kinda just showed up and there Auston was holding a stupid watch.
Relationships: Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	Charcuterie Nights

**Author's Note:**

> notably, this is set in this year (jumbo is there) but also tyson barrie is also still there. but covid doesn’t exist cause fanfic is escapism. but don’t get me started on that cause i have a 3 page rant on how that’s why i hate tv shows w covid. oh and also mitch has a concussion!

All players have a hobby outside of hockey. Some it’s golf, fishing, hunting. For Auston it’s apparently eating really fancy imported cheese and crackers at Justin Bieber’s house. And for Mitch it’s video games. Mitch genuinely thinks everyone would go crazy if their job was their only thing. 

So when Mitch concussion hit and he was on a completely limited screen time, he felt like he was going crazy. The guys tried their best to help, but it was mostly a bust. 

Tyson tried the dog park, but it was too loud and too bright, too early. Morgan tried to get him to paint, but it was messy a be nd Mitch was never satisfied with his work next to Morgan’s. Zach brought him over a few books, but Mitch got like 10 words in and re-remembered why he hasn’t finished a book since his, like, high school days. 

Then came along Jumbo and his woodworking. It was nice at the start. It wasn’t too loud and was actually kinda pleasant with the notice cancelling headphones Jumbo tossed at him when he arrived.  
Then it started to go down hill. Steep down hill. Like undefined slope down hill. 

Firstly, there were stupid splinters just plunged all around his hands. Then after he cut everything to then make it into the stupid birdhouse, they didn’t fit right together. The wall was too short and the angle on the roof was off. It was just a mess. 

And Auston got the pleasure of hearing all about it as Mitch groaned and aggressively washed his hands trying to get the wood glue residue off of him.  
“I’m never wood working ever again” Mitch pronounced to the world.  
“Babe, we’ll find you something, okay?” Auston attempted to placate his boyfriend from through the open door as he lounged on the bed. Mitch finally shut off the water to turn and look towards his boyfriend.  
“I sure as hell know something to do.” Mitch smirked at Auston chilling on his bed in the most ungodly short short shorts Auston owned. Auston raised his eyebrows in response as Mitch tossed the hand towel down. 

Through the weeks of anxiety and tribulations of doctors constantly going “you just have to wait it out” on the concussion front, Auston had like exactly 2 things on his mind at all times: their current hockey season they were grinding through and trying to be there for Mitch.  
One of the things not on his mind? A certain, romantic holiday coming up in the middle of February. That was until Justin started asking him opinions on gift options for his girlfriend,  
“Justin, just cause I’m a gay guy doesn’t mean I know what your girl wants!” he finally said exacerbated, “But I do think she’d like your cute little couple spa trip”.  
“Thanks, man, I can always count on you. What are you getting Mitchy?” Justin bumped his shoulder.  
“Uh, I don’t really know yet. We don’t really do the whole Valentine’s day thing. We’re playing that night anyways.” Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.  
“Oh, I mean like whatever works for you guys. But I always feel like it’s just one those good opportunities to show like you care about they say and what they like, you know?”  
“Yeah, yeah, for sure.” Auston agreed distantly, turning away to finish getting into the zone for the game as coach walked into the room. 

So then when the holiday rolled back into his mind, he dropped a little money and bought a nice watch from the internet and called it a day for his valentine’s day plans. 

Maybe Auston should’ve maybe talked his boyfriend about their expectations were for the holiday before, he thought as he started down at his gift in Mitch’s hand. 

“Happy Valentine’s day, Aus. I love you.” Mitch said softly, handing over a beautiful live edged charcuterie board, adorned with copper handles and a small leaf branded into the corner of the wood.  
“I made it from that oak tree from your house that fell, I had your mom mail a couple parts of it up to me.”  
“You made this?” Auston asked, his voice cracking a little on the edge.  
Auston thought back to the near month ago when he told Mitch all about the cool charcuterie board Justin had had when he’d last gone over to eat fancy ass cheese and wine in his kitchen. He honestly didn’t even realize his boyfriend was listening to him at the time as he rambled about charcuterie while heating their dinner.  
“Yeah, been working on it for quite a while with Jumbo.”  
“I thought you were ‘never woodworking again’” Auston quoted back to Mitch.  
“I made an exception for you.” the softness in Mitch’s voice made Auston’s heart feel like it skipped a beat. 

The smile on Auston’s lip slipped off though when Mitch said, “Okay, where’s my gift now?”, a childish smile playing on his lips.  
“It’s uh- right here.” Auston rubbed the back of his neck. He handed the watch box over to his boyfriend.  
Mitch slowly opened the box to reveal the silver timekeeper,  
“Oh, thanks, Aus. I really like it.” Mitch smiled, it felt empty, his voice certainly felt like it too. Auston felt like puking.  
“Sorry, I didn’t realize we were really doing the whole ‘Valentine’s Day gift stuff’, you know?” he asked, the hesitation clear in his voice.  
“No, Aus, this is great. I love it, thank you” Mitch held it out to Auston to put it on him as he took out the impersonal looking watch out of the nice box. 

Later in the locker room, Auston regretted his life choices even more.  
“So, what’d Matts get you?” everyone started hounding Mitch as he came into the room.  
“Yeah, what’d he get? I’m so tired of hearing about your sappy little art project,” Willy called out from his spot.  
Jumbo came over and slung an arm around Auston, “he was so proud of himself to be the one to make it, he didn’t let me touch it at all. I, honestly, was most surprised he came back at all after last time.”  
Auston’s stomach continued to sink. Mitch did something he vowed to never do again to make him the sweetest gift on the planet that he’d knew he love, and he got his boyfriend a watch.  
After a few minutes the locker room quit yapping, but that pit in Auston didn’t leave with them. 

Later after their, Mitch laying happily exhausted on his bed like a cat, Auston following behind him in getting ready to curl up with him, he decided his plan.  
“I’m making up for today, I’m sorry.” Auston said into Mitchy’s neck.  
“Babe, I already told you, I love it, thank you. I know you’re just like not a Valentine’s day person.” He placated back to Auston, moving to shove his own face in Auston’s neck, kissing down it and effectively distracting Auston from any train of thought he previously had. 

And that’s how Mitch and Auston found themselves on an empty bow of a ship in Lake Ontario 3 days later.  
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Mitch smiled up at Auston, the lights on the boat reflecting on his face.  
“I know, when we went to Canoe last week you couldn’t keep your eyes off these,” Auston bent down to press a kiss to Mitch’s lips. He’d rented out the whole dinner cruise for just this reason, had all the employees sign hard NDAs so he could eat a nice dinner with appetizers off his new charcuterie board and kiss his boyfriend on a boat.  
Music softly played through the speakers of the boat onto the deck, a playlist hand made by Auston and Freddie of “their songs” and Mitch’s eyes popped up at hearing it.  
“Dance with me?” Mitch asked gently, reaching an inviting hand out.  
“I would love to,” Auston grasped his hand, taking them into a slow dance across the wood deck.  
Eventually they stopped, Mitch’s head leaned against Auston’s chest, “Thank you, I love this.”  
“I love you, Mitch.”  
“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> written after getting into my dream school. maybe some unsaid things abt my own relationship in here too, but i’d rather just repress that thought than anything. 
> 
> ~ hope you enjoy, drop some comments ~


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